Daily life in the golden age of Greece varied, as it does today,
according to economic status as well as by other factors such as
war and even the type of government that was in place. The best way
to get an appreciation of this is to look at a few specific
examples and from these draw some general conclusions.

A. The life of a well-to-do young man growing up in
Athens at the time of Pericles.

The advantage of being born a boy rather than a girl became
apparent right at birth. It was considered very important to have a
male heir, someone who could carry on the family line and name, who
would care for his father in his old age and carry out the
religious obligations that would ensure his well-being in the
afterlife. The father decided whether his new born son should be
allowed to live or whether he should simply be abandoned, put
outside in a clay pot that would serve as his coffin. If he was
kept, and most boys were except in times of siege or great economic
hardship, he was given a name and became a part of the community.
From that point on the father had no right to get rid of the baby.
(Newborn girls did not fare as well, ancient sources noting that
‘a great number' were exposed and left to die.)

The father also decided how the child would be raised and
educated, some favoring home schooling and others bringing in
tutors to educate them. (Alexander, the Great's father King Philip
brought in Aristotle to serve as teacher and mentor to the young
Alexander.) Children grew up playing with a variety of toys (
rattles, balls, miniature chariots, wooden boats, clay houses;
animal figures- pigs, goats, etc.) as well as perhaps a small
number of pets- dogs, ducks, mice and, even, insects.

Formal education covered the usual 3 R's ( reading, w riting and
a rithmetic) as well as physical education and music. For the
ancient Greeks, music was considered to have great importance in a
proper education curriculum and students learned both to sing and
to play various instruments. The school master and the music
teacher conducted lessons in their own homes, not in state
constructed schools. Although the state valued and took an interest
in education, carrying out the instruction was a matter of private
initiative. The works of Homer were an important part of the course
of studies serving an a source of inspiration for lessons dealing
with matters of a moral or religious nature. Homer was perceived as
a guide for a proper life while the writings of Hesiod and Solon
were considered of secondary importance.

By the age of eighteen the young Athenian was ready for military
service. Prior to this, from roughly the age of twelve, he would
have had considerable exposure to physical training participating
in a range of activities- running, wrestling, jumping, discus and
javelin. Of course many of the skills learned in these sporting
endeavors would prove to be useful in time of war.

B. The life of a youth growing up in Sparta in the same
era.

The Spartans didn't write much. They had an aversion to writing
literature and brevity of speech was considered to be a desirable
trait so we have had to look at their society through the eyes of
others. Four ancient sources- Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon and
Plutarch provide much of the information about this much-admired
and often-feared society. A key attribute of the Spartan way of
life was austerity which extended to their homes, possessions,
clothing and the food they ate. Only those who had died in battle
or in childbirth were allowed to have tombstones and these provided
limited information. There were also modest grave offerings.

As the historian Thucydides noted, “If, for example,
Sparta were to be deserted and only the temples and the foundations
of buildings remained, I imagine that people in the distant future
would seriously doubt that Sparta's power ever approached its
fame.” Today we know the names of 20,000 Athenians and
only a scattering of Spartan names and in the minds of many the
story of ancient Greece is essentially the story of Athens. But in
its heyday Sparta was the most powerful state in the Greek world,
three times larger than the Athenian state and with its share of
wealthy individuals. And it controlled its citizens literally from
the cradle to the grave.

It began at birth. It was the state, not the father as in other
Greek city-states, who determined whether a newborn male should
live or die. If the baby appeared to be healthy and vigorous he
would be kept; if not, he would be abandoned and left to die.
Sparta was a military state, virtually always at war, and it needed a good supply of robust babies that could be
trained to unquestioningly protect the interests of the state. The
child, once accepted by Spartan officials, was raised at home until
he reached the age of seven. At that point he left home and entered
state schools to be trained to obey and serve in preparation for a
life of military service that would last until he was sixty.

The Spartan student curriculum developed only basic skills in
reading and writing. The emphasis was on content that would be
useful in a military career- survival training, how to endure
hardship, overcome obstacles and fend for yourself in hostile
territory. Spartan youth went barefoot, they wore a single cloak in
all kinds of weather and they were fed sparingly. They were
encouraged to supplement their rations by stealing food and then
whipped if they were caught in the process. The whip, in fact,
played an important role in their upbringing.

By twenty, the Spartan youth had reached adulthood. At this
stage he joined a “dining group” of his military peers.
He ate all his meals with that group, bonding and developing a
sense of camaraderie essential for hoplite warfare where all relied
on each other. Sometime in the course of the next decade he would
marry and live, not at home, but with his military messmates until
he had reached the age of thirty.

Spartan girls enjoyed more freedom than their Greek counterparts
in other states. They were educated by the state and their primary
mission was to have children, particularly young
soldiers-in-waiting. To that end they were well-nourished and
encouraged to exercise, participating in a range of sports
activities. Spartan women were also allowed to inherit and own
property.